The Oakmont Baptist Church Legacy Foundation

is a charitable endowment with three separate accounts:  

General, Missional Initiatives and Property Improvements.

Gifts to the Oakmont Legacy Foundation can be memorials for a loved one who has died or in honor of a special person in your life. You can give by any of the ways you give to Oakmont Baptist Church such as cash, check, stocks, and bequests in your will. You will need to indicate that the gift is for the Legacy Foundation and which account (General, Missional Initiatives, or Property Improvements). 


Contact Rebecca Gurganus, reastman@mondaycpa.com, from Monday & Monday CPA, for more information about Oakmont's  Legacy Foundation. 


Always consult with an expert for current tax issues.


Click HERE to download a PDF of this information.

How Can I Give

Cash

A gift of cash is one way to realize your charitable objectives. Cash gifts qualify as a charitable deduction for federal income tax purposes. 


Securities

Gifts of appreciated securities (readily marketable stocks, and stock in closely held companies) can also be given to the Endowment Fund. 


Gifts of Income

A number of plans allow you to make a gift to the Endowment Fund, and still receive an ongoing income for you, a spouse, your children, or others. Options include gift annuities and charitable remainder trusts (including unitrusts, annuity trusts, testamentary trusts, and charitable lead trusts). 


Testamentary Gifts Bequests and Memorials

Through your will, you can perpetuate good works with a living memorial. The Endowment Fund can be a beneficiary of a portion of your estate, the recipient of a specific device or the ultimate beneficiary of a charitable remainder trust. The value of that device is deductible for federal estate tax purposes. In addition, any funeral memorials that are contributed in your memory can be directed to the Endowment. 


Life Insurance

There are several ways to give life insurance to the Endowment Fund. You can transfer the ownership of an existing life insurance policy, purchase a new contract of insurance in the name of the Endowment Fund or name the Endowment Fund as a beneficiary of the life insurance policy. In addition to estate tax benefits, the donor may also obtain a charitable income tax deduction for lifetime transfers. 


Real Estate

A gift of real property held for more than one (1) year currently can provide the same tax advantages as a gift of securities. Or you can continue to live in your home or even rent it and still qualify for an immediate charitable tax deduction by deeding the property to the Endowment Fund upon your death. 


Retirement Assets

One of the easiest ways to grow our Endowment Fund is through beneficiary designations of retirement funds. This allows you the ability to access the funds during life if and when you need them and still benefit your church upon your passing. Imagine the impact we can have in our faith community if each of us named a percentage of our retirement funds to benefit the Endowment Fund.

Common Questions

What is an endowment?

An endowment is made up of gifts and bequests and is subject to a requirement that the principal be maintained intact in perpetuity, or for a defined period of time, or until sufficient assets have been accumulated to achieve a designated purpose. Only the interest from the fund can be spent, not the principal that anchors the endowment. Only a portion of the interest or earnings from the endowment are spent on an annual basis in order to assure that the original funds will grow over time.


Who decides how these earnings will be spent? 

  The Missions Team will designate the use of the proceeds from the Missional Initiatives account. The Property and Space Team will designate the use of the proceeds from the Property Improvements accounts. The Stewardship Team will decide where the disbursements are to be used for proceeds are from the General Endowment Fund.


When will we receive earnings from the endowment?

The Oakmont Baptist Church Legacy Foundation is structured so that all earnings are reinvested until the principal of an account (General, Missional Initiatives, or Property Improvements) reaches $1,000,000. When this goal is reached, an annual amount will be distributed to Oakmont semiannually at the end of each June and December.


How much will be earned?

Once an account reaches $1,000,000, the amount to be distributed will be calculated by multiplying that year’s January 1st market value of the account by four and one-quarter percent (4.25%), averaged over a five-year rolling average. Each of the individual Endowment Accounts will be calculated separately to determine its distribution amount. 


Can the distribution rate change?

Yes. Oakmont reserves the right at any time to amend the method of calculating the annual distribution amount of any or all funds in a manner that is acceptable to the Trustee.


Who is the Trustee? 

The North Carolina Baptist Foundation, Inc. (NCBF) will be the Trustee. NCBF was incorporated in 1920 and its mission is to increase awareness of Christian estate stewardship principles as a means of financially undergirding churches, institutions, and mission endeavors on a permanent basis. NCBF specializes in managing church funds and endowments. NCBF currently holds in trust approximately $135 million for churches, Christian organizations and individuals. (For information on NCBF, see www.ncbaptistfoundation.org).


How is the endowment invested? 

NCBF uses Graystone Consulting in Raleigh as its Investment Manager. Graystone is a business of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney. It was founded in 1973 as a unit of E. F. Hutton Co., which subsequently became a unit of Smith Barney. Graystone meets quarterly with the Investment Committee of NCBF and recommends investment managers to oversee endowment funds, investing the money in stocks, bonds, and other financial instruments. All investments are socially screened.


Can the endowment agreement be broken if Oakmont needs the principal? 

Yes. Although the Oakmont Baptist Church Legacy Foundation is established so that at no time is a distribution permitted from an individual Endowment Account that would cause the value of an Endowment Account to drop below $1,000,000, there is one exception. If there are circumstances of dire need, Oakmont reserves the right to authorize such a distribution upon written request signed by the Chairperson of the Diaconate and the Pastor. Such authorization can only come following (a) the recommendation by the Oakmont Baptist Church Stewardship Team, (b) approval of the Diaconate, and (c) upon three-fourths (3/4) vote of those present of the congregation in a meeting called for such a purpose.


Are my gifts tax deductible?

Yes. You should consult your tax advisor or attorney for specific questions on estate planning.


Do gifts to the Legacy Foundation replace my tithe to Oakmont?

No. The Bible tells us that we are to bring our tithes to our storehouse, which is our church. Gifts through the Legacy Foundation are offerings above the tithe.